Quantcast
Channel: Environment
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2972

Here are the qualifications of all 13 people who served as Secretary of Energy before Rick Perry

$
0
0

Rick Perry

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated former Texas Governor Rick Perry to lead the Department of Energy. The position entails guiding research and policy around energy production in the US, handling radioactive waste disposal, building nuclear reactors, and running the US system of national laboratories, as well as overseeing grants that fund a great deal of cutting-edge scientific research.

That's all in addition, of course, to maintaining the nation's nuclear arsenal.

Unlike those who've filled the role before him for the last decade, Perry has no scientific background. He also once forgot the name of the Energy Department on a debate stage, the now-famous "Oops" gaffe that helped end his 2011 bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

Still, Perry wouldn't be the first non-scientist to head the department. From the 1970s until 2005 the post was held by people without a science or engineering degree (mostly politicians and lawyers). After that, all Secretaries of Energy have held science or engineering PhDs (and one held a Nobel Prize). Take a look:

SEE ALSO: Scientists around the world are worried about a Trump team proposal to ax NASA's 58-year mission to study the Earth

DON'T MISS: California governor: 'If Trump turns off the satellites, California will launch its own damn satellite'

1977-1979: James Schlesinger

James Schlesinger was the first US Secretary of Energy, a Republican picked by President Jimmy Carter to head the department just after it was formed. Schlesinger had served in the presidential cabinet before, leading the Department of Defense from 1973-1975 and playing a significant role in national nuclear policy. As Secretary of Energy he worked to consolidate the department's functions, which had previously been distributed across several agencies, and funded several research efforts, including one of the first federal investigations of the impact of carbon dioxide on our atmosphere.



1979-1981: Charles Duncan Jr.

The second Secretary of Energy nominated under Carter, Duncan had also previously served as Secretary of Defense. Carter was nonetheless criticized for the selection because Duncan, a former executive in the coffee industry, had no direct experience with oil. As secretary, Duncan worked on negotiations with OPEC during a tough period in the global oil economy.



1981-1982: James Edwards

James Edwards was President Ronald Reagan's first, briefly-serving Secretary of Energy. A former governor of South Carolina with a background in oral surgery, Edwards was known as a proponent of nuclear energy, and, like Perry, was implicated in a promise to dismantle the Department of Energy (he didn't).

The New York Times reports that he "struggled" in the post, criticized for his lack of expertise in the field and hamstrung by the Reagan administration's distaste for the department.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2972

Trending Articles



<script src="https://jsc.adskeeper.com/r/s/rssing.com.1596347.js" async> </script>